


Outwit

by ManyFandomsOneLog



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Flirting, Hero/Villain, I don’t know how to end One-Shots, Just your average nemeses flirting with each other, M/M, Only Teen-Rated Because of Swearing, Same Aliases as What You Can Stand but you don’t have to have read it to read this, Supervillain!Virgil, Tumblr Prompt, superhero!roman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 21:14:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29267073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ManyFandomsOneLog/pseuds/ManyFandomsOneLog
Summary: Based off the prompt: “Well, that was one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen.” “How dare you?!”Same aliases as my fic What You Can Stand, but works just fine as a stand-alone fic.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders
Comments: 10
Kudos: 52





	Outwit

**Author's Note:**

> TW: Possible second-hand embarrassment

It was a clear, bright day in the city, with hardly a cloud in the sky. The superhero named Roman Reyes, better known as The Prince, felt most at ease with himself in moments like this, flying through the air with the wind in his hair and his cape flowing behind him.

He took the note out of his breast pocket again, running his hand over the purple script, “ _I’ll be at the Museum of Art at midnight. Catch me if you can._ ” There was a heart scribbled at the end of the message. 

The note wasn’t signed, but Roman didn’t need a signature to know who it was from. It was immediately recognizable as the handiwork of the villain Nightmare- a foreboding supervillain and thorn in Roman’s side for nearly three months now.

Roman could practically hear his gravelly voice teasing him now, “ _Aw, you’ve been keeping track of how long we’ve known each other? I always knew you cared, Princey._ ”

The Prince shook himself, clearing his thoughts. Even when he wasn’t there, Nightmare somehow still managed to fluster him. It was one of Roman’s greatest weaknesses when it came to their encounters. Nightmare always seemed to know exactly what to say to throw Roman off, or to make him hesitate quick enough for the villain to slip away.

This time, though, Roman had the upper hand. This time, he was going to catch him. This time, Nightmare had been stupid enough to tell him not only where he was going, but when. 

Now, obviously Roman knew that the time was bound to be inaccurate. There was no way that Nightmare would make it that easy for him. But, nevertheless, he had given Roman valuable information.

And, yes, Roman had considered the idea that maybe Nightmare was toying with him completely- maybe he wasn’t going to be at the museum at all, maybe this was all just a ruse- but that really didn’t seem likely. When it came down to it, Nightmare had a flair for the dramatic. He was a supervillain, after all- it was practically in the job qualifications. Still, when it came to dramatics, Nightmare certainly did not disappoint. 

The villain’s outfit, for starters- it was an elaborate affair, a bold statement of black and purple criss-crossed with white spiderweb pattern. The villain didn’t have a cape- no, that would be too little- he had a black hooded cloak, like some sort of dark sorcerer.

To be fair, though, the power that the villain possessed probably warranted the dramatics. Nightmare had the ability to show people their worst nightmares- hence the name. All it took was one wrong move, and you were forced to watch your greatest fears play out right in front of your eyes, seemingly as plain as the nose on your face, right up until the moment they were gone.

..Roman had experienced the unpleasantness of Nightmare’s power firsthand more times than he’d like to admit.

But that was beside the point! The point was that Nightmare was dramatic, which meant that he would never miss out on the opportunity to speak to The Prince face to face, and to rub it in that face when he escaped. 

Which meant that he would be at the museum!

Roman glanced at a conveniently-located clocktower, and he smiled at the time. It was just past 9:00 AM. 

Well, hopefully not anytime soon.

When The Prince arrived at the Museum of Art, it had only been open for an hour. The smile remained on his face, tugging at the corners of his lips as he entered through the back door of the establishment, which he had kindly asked the owner to leave open in a call this morning. 

Roman locked the door behind him, walking as quietly as he could. He would prefer to keep his presence here as much of a secret as possible, in order to avoid his enemy finding out that he had arrived unbelievably early.

The automatic lights, however, held no regard for Roman’s wishes. As soon as he began to move, the fluorescent lights overhead flickered on, illuminating the room around him.

Delivery trucks were parked by a garage door in one area of the room, and in the other, boxes of records, paintings, and old frames sat stagnant. Roman remembered Logan saying something once about how libraries always had a certain air of mysticism, and Roman felt that this place had a similar quality.

He looked around for a couple minutes to find a comfortable place to hide, eventually deciding on a spot behind some shelves that was hidden from view. He sat down, piling his cape underneath him as a makeshift pillow.

However early Nightmare was planning to show up, The Prince was going to be there first.

So, Roman waited. 

..And waited.

And waited, and waited, and _waited_.

He could hear the sounds of people within the building milling around, getting louder as the hours passed. Every so often, someone would enter the warehouse, to make a delivery or to grab something from the back, and each time, Roman tensed up, preparing for confrontation, only to relax again.

When he checked the time and saw that only an hour and a half had passed, The Prince let out a groan. Maybe showing up _this_ early had been overkill. 

At 1 PM, Roman took a lunch break. Yes, it was risky, but he was pretty sure that if he spent one more second in that spot, not eating, it was going to be his very own supervillain origin story.

When he came back, nothing had changed. He sighed, and waited some more.

Roman wasn’t sure when exactly he dozed off. All he knew was that at 7:00 PM, thirty minutes after closing, he was woken up by the sound of the garage door opening.

Roman blinked drowsily, sitting up from where he’d eventually ended up laying. 

It was probably just a delivery.

A figure approached through the open door, their features shadowed. They didn’t appear to be carrying any sort of package, but perhaps they were picking something up, or meeting with someone.

Then, the figure stepped forward, and the fluorescent lights flickered on, illuminating them.

Roman’s eyes widened, his breath hitching.

There he stood in the entrance to the room, his cloak billowing behind him in the wind and a smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. 

Nightmare.

The footsteps of his thick black boots echoed through the room, bouncing off of the walls. How he’d managed to get that garage open, The Prince had no idea. He stayed hidden in his spot, his eyes following the villain’s every move. If he could figure out what exactly his angle was here, he’d have the upper hand.

Nightmare looked strangely nervous, his hands fidgeting at his sides and an uneasy expression in his face as he examined the room around him. Was this how he was when he thought he was alone?

He moved across the room, growing closer to The Prince’s hiding spot with every step. Roman could’ve sworn he was staring right at him.

Then, Nightmare turned away, and Roman exhaled a small sigh of relief.

Unfortunately, he didn’t think this action through, as the villain heard the noise, immediately whirling around. Roman’s heart leapt out of his chest, and he tensed, preparing for a fight. 

After a few seconds of standing perfectly still, listening, Nightmare shook his head, and continued in the direction he was going.

Nightmare came to a halt in front of a gilded gold-framed mirror in the corner of the room. Was that what he had come here for? Some dusty old mirror? There was art worth millions more than that inside the museum.

But Nightmare made no move to take the mirror. Instead, he nervously adjusted his costume and moved his brown hair out of his eyes, assessing his reflection. 

Nightmare bounced on the balls of his feet a couple of times and muttered something to himself that sounded like, “You can do this.”

Roman stifled a laugh. Was he.. giving himself a pep talk?

Then, things got even better. 

Nightmare cleared his throat. Swallowed. Cleared his throat again.

Then, his expression shifted to a smirk, “Well, well, well, look who finally decided to show up.”

What? Who he was he talking to? Roman looked around the room, but they were still the only two people there.

Nightmare shook his head, then repeated his words, saying them with slightly different inflections, “Well, well, _well_ , look who _finally_ decided to show up.” He crossed his arms for a moment, grinning, before he began to pace back and forth, “No, no, that’s _stupid_.” He groaned.

The Prince’s face split into a grin as he realized what was happening. 

Nightmare was _rehearsing._

The villain turned on his heel, facing his reflection again, “Hey there, Princey. I was wondering how long it would take for you to get here.”

From his hiding place, Roman stifled a laugh. This was just _too good._

Nightmare ran through several more lines, each one providing more of a struggle for Roman not to reveal himself.

“Well, look who’s finally here- I was beginning to think you’d stood me up, Princey.”

“If it isn’t Prince Gullible!”

“I know a Queen is never late, but I’m pretty sure a Prince is.”

“Fancy seeing you here, Princey.”

At that, Roman couldn’t take it anymore. He released his hand from its grip over his mouth and exploded with uncontrollable laughter, the noise echoing through the room. 

Nightmare startled, physically leaping into the air with fright.

Having already announced his presence, The Prince stepped out from his hiding place. 

Nightmare spotted him in the mirror’s reflection, and his eyes widened.

Roman grinned, “Well, that was one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen.” He said.

Nightmare turned, and even underneath his raccoon’s mask, Roman could see his face turn bright red, “I- Wha- Princey- You-“ He sputtered. Then, he seemed to process Roman’s words, “How dare you?!”

The Prince let out another laugh, delighting in Nightmare’s flustered state, “I mean it! It was _adorable_. Please- don’t stop at my expense.”

Nightmare’s face reddened further, “I- You- How- How long have you been here?!” He exclaimed.

“Since nine in the morning.” The Prince answered.

The expression on his nemesis’s face made it all worth it.

“Nine..?” Nightmare was dumbstruck. “So you saw..”

“..Everything.” Roman confirmed.

Nightmare buried his face in his hands, “Fuck.” He said. “This is.. humiliating.”

“Aw, don’t be so hard on yourself, Tom Lose. It’s not an easy task to outwit The Prince!”

Nightmare found his footing in the conversation a little, “Really? Because I’ve been doing it with no problem up until now.”

Roman felt his face heat up, but he did not allow himself to lose his composure, “So you admit that I _have_ outwit you this time?” He said smugly.

“Shut up.” Nightmare growled.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I apologize for not knowing how to finish one-shots. If you liked this, please leave kudos and a comment with your thoughts!


End file.
